DM Talomyr's Kingmaker

Game Master Talomyr

Celebeth, once again, casts vanish.

Celebeth goes invisible again, preparing for ensuing battle.

Rhiannon hurls an alchemist's fire further into the cave to illuminate the great, green-scaled creature than lies in wait.

"Overly proud, aren't we..." the dragon hisses as it inhales.

Initiative Order

Party as a whole beat the dragon on initiative. You are all up. Initiative order if you care is: Garethane, Rhiannon, Tove, Wulfric, Azen, Celebeth, and then the Dragon.

Wulfric casts Haste on the party and moves up.
01-05 ASF: 1d100 ⇒ 13

@GM - Rhiannon's token should be Large, I believe.

Wulfric is now AC 28 with Haste active. He has his lance in hand and his buckler stowed (since he has Shield active).

Azen takes a shot at the dragon.

Attack (+1 Composite Longbow): 1d20 + 8 + 1 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 8 + 1 + 4 = 21 (luck, bullseye shot)
Damage (piercing, magic): 2d6 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (6, 3) + 2 + 1 = 12 (luck, gravity bow)

Azen (and everyone) should have another +1 to hit from Haste. Every bonus to hit helps against a dragon.

Since I had to move more than 5 ft, only one shot this round.

Garethane dashes into the room and takes his first shot at the dragon.

+1 Composite Longbow, FF, Prayer: 1d20 + 9 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 9 + 1 + 1 = 141d8 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 3 + 1 = 11

*TINK*

"Well, this bodes well."

Tove casts Deadeye’s Arrow, sending a crackling bolt of energy loose from her bow.

Ranged Touch Attack (Haste, Prayer): 1d20 + 7 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 7 + 1 + 1 = 25
Damage (electricity): 1d6 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6

Prayer
[5] rounds remaining: Everyone gains a +1 luck bonus on attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, saves, and skill checks, while each enemy takes a -1 penalty on such rolls.

Resist Energy
~[5] minutes remaining: Each party member gains resist energy 10 (acid). The spell protects the recipient’s equipment as well.

While invisible, Celebeth casts shield.

Oops, yeah... forgot Haste. So, that should be a 22, with prayer, haste, and bullseye shot. Might still be too low to hit a dragon, but Azen is full of hope. :)

Arrows fly in the direction of the dragon, but fail to piece the creature's scaly hide. Tove fires off a magical bolt, the bolt disappates as it crashes against the creature's wing.

Rhiannon is up.

"Azen, I think we will need the magic of your song."

Dragon AC is tough. But Inspire Courage is amazing and stacks with everything else we have.

Rhiannon explodes into action, racing across the distance to strike, fully committed to this battle one way or another.

Blackthorn +1 Cold iron fey bane estoc/Enlarged/Bull’s strength/Cat’s Grace/Haste/Charge: 1d20 + 14 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 14 + 2 = 33
Magic/Cold Iron/Bull’s strength/Prayer/Enlarged: 2d6 + 7 ⇒ (5, 3) + 7 = 15

Rhiannon's strike drives through the scaly hide of the dragon, cutting off the beast mid-way through its inhalation.

Snarling, the dragon focuses its ire on the warrior who dared strike it, unleashing a flurry of claw, wing, and tail strikes before snapping at the warrior with its massive jaws. Rhiannon's defenses are more up to the challenge than the dragon would have thought, but a claw and the tail swipe before land before the dragon's jaws clamp down on Rhiannon's arm.

Rhiannon takes 47 damage!

The party is up!

Wulfric casts True Strike and moves up, ending 15' from the dragon.

On my phone the next couple of days, so I will need someone to move my icon. Wulfric is AC 28 with Haste.

Azen starts singing, hoping to Inspire Courage in her friends.

Celebeth tries to sneak up on the dragon, drawing her elven blade as she goes... invisibly.

Stealth, invisible: 1d20 + 13 + 20 ⇒ (11) + 13 + 20 = 44

The pain of the dragon’s counterattack is unlike any she’s ever felt, leaving her with no illusions of surviving this encounter. The most she can do is put everything she has left into bringing the monster down, or at the very least, wounding it badly enough so that her companions can end it without anyone else dying.

Calling upon her inner reserves of strength, she pushes the pain aside, forcing her body to keep functioning despite everything inside her begging to just lie down, as she drives her weapon into it’s body again and again, hoping to score another solid wounding hit.

Blackthorn +1 Cold iron fey bane estoc/Enlarged/Bull’s strength/Cat’s Grace/Haste/Inspired: 1d20 + 10 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 10 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 2 = 31
Magic/Cold Iron/Bull’s strength/Prayer/Enlarged: 2d6 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (1, 6) + 7 + 2 = 16

Blackthorn +1 Cold iron fey bane estoc/Enlarged/Bull’s strength/Cat’s Grace/Haste/Inspired: 1d20 + 5 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 5 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 2 = 16
Magic/Cold Iron/Bull’s strength/Prayer/Enlarged: 2d6 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (1, 4) + 7 + 2 = 14

Hasted attack
Blackthorn +1 Cold iron fey bane estoc/Enlarged/Bull’s strength/Cat’s Grace/Haste/Inspired: 1d20 + 10 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 10 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 2 = 27
Magic/Cold Iron/Bull’s strength/Prayer/Enlarged: 2d6 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (4, 4) + 7 + 2 = 17

Tove rushes forward, laying her hands on Rhiannon and channeling all of Erastil’s healing power she can muster, before beating a hasty retreat back away from the dragon.

Spontaneous Casting, swapping Daybreak Arrow for Cure Serious Wounds.
Cure Serious Wounds: 3d8 + 6 ⇒ (4, 4, 2) + 6 = 16
Yikes…

Prayer
[4] rounds remaining: Everyone gains a +1 luck bonus on attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, saves, and skill checks, while each enemy takes a -1 penalty on such rolls.

Resist Energy
~[5] minutes remaining: Each party member gains resist energy 10 (acid). The spell protects the recipient’s equipment as well.

For some reason I forgot to add prayer to the attack rolls so +1 to each of those. Up to 21 up now

Worried about his enlarged teammate, the elf starts frantically pumping out arrows at the dragon.

Modifiers: FF(Dex), Haste, Prayer, Inspire Courage, Rapid Shot.

Longbow +1, Rapid Shot 1: 1d20 + 10 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (13) + 10 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 2 - 2 = 321d8 + 3 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 3 + 1 + 2 = 10

Longbow +1, Rapid Shot 2: 1d20 + 10 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (3) + 10 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 2 - 2 = 221d8 + 3 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 3 + 1 + 2 = 8

Longbow +1, Haste Shot 3: 1d20 + 10 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (20) + 10 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 2 - 2 = 391d8 + 3 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 3 + 1 + 2 = 7

Longbow +1, Haste Shot 3 confirmation and extra damage: 1d20 + 10 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (7) + 10 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 2 - 2 = 262d8 + 6 + 2 + 4 ⇒ (8, 2) + 6 + 2 + 4 = 22

Sorry for the delay folks...

Tove rushes ahead and heals a small fraction of Rhiannon's many wounds before Rhiannon stabs into the dragon twice and Garethane's fires two arrows into the same.

The dragon staggers from the force of the four successful strikes, before shifting its position and exhaling a cloud of corrosive gas over Rhiannon, Tove, Garethane, and Wulfric.

Breath Weapon: 10d6 ⇒ (2, 4, 2, 3, 3, 6, 6, 3, 1, 5) = 35 DC 20 save for half damage.

The party is up.

Reflex, Haste, Prayer, Protection from Evil, Cat's Grace: 1d20 + 6 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 6 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 2 = 28

Wulfric takes half damage (17) which is then reduced by Tove's Communal Resist Energy spell to a mere 7 damage. He is at 35/42 HP.

Remember your bonuses on your saves, everyone! +1 Prayer, +1 Haste, and maybe others.

He takes a 5' step and stabs the dragon twice.

Attack, True Strike +20, Prayer +1, Inspire Courage +2: 1d20 + 9 + 20 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 9 + 20 + 1 + 2 = 49
Damage: 1d8 + 4 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 4 + 1 + 2 = 9

Hasted Attack: 1d20 + 9 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 9 + 1 + 2 = 26
Damage: 1d8 + 4 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 4 + 1 + 2 = 14

AC 28 with Haste.

Celebeth attempts to sneak up on the dragon, well aware that dragons are often able to sense the invisible.

Stealth, invisible: 1d20 + 13 + 20 ⇒ (6) + 13 + 20 = 39

Of course, if the dragon has tremorsense, the invisibility bonus doesn't apply.

Mithral thornblade attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21

If the sneaking works, the dragon should be denied its Dex bonus, if any.

Mithral thornblade damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7
Sneak attack damage: 1d6 ⇒ 5 (Only if sneaking worked)

Reflex DC 20: 1d20 + 4 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 4 + 1 + 1 = 15 (Haste, Prayer)

Tove does her best to avoid the dragon's corrosive breath, but is unable to escape the spreading cloud.

Tove takes 35 - 10 = 25 damage.

Directing a flow of positive energy she does her best to mitigate the effect on herself and her companions.

Channel Energy: 3d6 ⇒ (6, 1, 4) = 11

Prayer
[3] rounds remaining: Everyone gains a +1 luck bonus on attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, saves, and skill checks, while each enemy takes a -1 penalty on such rolls.

Resist Energy
~[5] minutes remaining: Each party member gains resist energy 10 (acid). The spell protects the recipient’s equipment as well.

Despite her increased size, Rhiannon dodges the worst of the blast with remarkable speed, Trove’s protective spell shielding her from most of the remaining effect.
Reflex save/Prayer/Cat’s Grace/Haste/Inspired: 1d20 + 8 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 8 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 2 = 32

Still heavily wounded, the Royal Enforcer throws herself fully into trying to end the conflict as quickly as possible.
Blackthorn +1 Cold iron fey bane estoc/Enlarged/Bull’s strength/Cat’s Grace/Haste/Inspired: 1d20 + 10 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 10 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 2 = 21
Magic/Cold Iron/Bull’s strength/Prayer/Enlarged: 2d6 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (3, 5) + 7 + 2 = 17

Blackthorn +1 Cold iron fey bane estoc/Enlarged/Bull’s strength/Cat’s Grace/Haste/Inspired: 1d20 + 5 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 5 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 2 = 28
Magic/Cold Iron/Bull’s strength/Prayer/Enlarged: 2d6 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (3, 6) + 7 + 2 = 18

Hasted attack
Blackthorn +1 Cold iron fey bane estoc/Enlarged/Bull’s strength/Cat’s Grace/Haste/Inspired: 1d20 + 10 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 10 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 2 = 25
Magic/Cold Iron/Bull’s strength/Prayer/Enlarged: 2d6 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (5, 3) + 7 + 2 = 17

7 damage after save/protection (14/52 I'll update my tagline when I'm at my PC); Full attack
Once Celebeth’s attack ends her invisbility I should have +2 to all attacks from flanking (so 23, 30 and 27 on the attack rolls)

Azen continues to sing, and shoots at the dragon.

Attack (+1 Composite Longbow): 1d20 + 8 + 1 + 4 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 8 + 1 + 4 + 1 + 2 = 33 (luck, bullseye shot, haste, inspire courage)
Damage (piercing, magic): 2d6 + 2 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (1, 5) + 2 + 1 + 2 = 11 (luck, gravity bow, inspire courage)

Forgot to add prayer and inspire courage. So that hits AC 24 for 10 base damage, plus potentially 5 sneak attack damage.

7 damage after save/protection (14/52 I'll update my tagline when I'm at my PC)

Adding 11 from Tove’s Channel Energy, you should be at 25/52 :)

A brutal coordinated strike of blades, lances, and arrows strike the dragon, piercing its scaly hide. The dragon's arches its back, letting out a roar that is clearly mixed with gargling blood. Moments later, the dragon lays on the ground dead.

Well that was almost too easy for you all (save the onslaught Rhiannon suffered in round 1)

Celebeth draws back her elven blade from the dragon's corpse, breathing heavily. She seems to vibrate in place, ready to stab it again, or perhaps to run away.

Finally she says in a squeaky voice, "... is it dead?"

Well that was almost too easy for you all (save the onslaught Rhiannon suffered in round 1)

I mean, there was a lot of work and prep that went into stacking the deck heavily in our favor. If we didn't know exactly what we were up against, and if we weren't buffed to the gills, and if we hadn't lured away its allies...

Celebeth draws back her elven blade from the dragon's corpse, breathing heavily. She seems to vibrate in place, ready to stab it again, or perhaps to run away.

Finally she says in a squeaky voice, "... is it dead?"

Wulfric nudges the dragon's head on its limp neck with his lance.

"That was... that was exhausting. Not just the battle, but all of it. From the time I learned we'd be fighting a dragon."

Wulfric casts Detect Magic and begins scanning the cavern.
01-05 ASF: 1d100 ⇒ 48

Tove stares in amazement as the dragon falls, her slack mouth slowly spreading into a relieved smile.

"We did it,” she grins, looking around at her companions. "Well done, everyone. The people of Elkmark are safer because of your efforts. And we’re one step closer to eliminating the threat to our southern borders entirely."

With the dragon downed, the Stag Lord turns her attention back to Rihannon and focuses on mending a few more of her wounds, before delivering another wave of positive energy to anyone else still in need of healing.

Spontaneous Casting, swapping Searing Light for Cure Serious Wounds.
Cure Serious Wounds: 3d8 + 6 ⇒ (2, 3, 6) + 6 = 17

Channel Energy: 3d6 ⇒ (4, 1, 1) = 6

Azen stares, dumbfounded, wondering how they didn't all get killed. But then she smiles, taking the win.

Dragon hide and other parts are valuable, no? Probably less so with arrow holes, but maybe we should collect parts... do we need to collect the blood as well?

She looks over at Wulfric who seems to know a lot about this sort of thing.

When the dragon finally collapses, the first sound to fill the stunned silence is Rhiannon’s heavy exhalation, a sound filled with relief, exhilaration, and pain as she stares down at the body of the monster that moments before almost tore her apart.

At Celebeth’s question, she shifts, deftly driving the point of her blade into the base of the dragon’s skull, twisting it for good measure.
”If it wasn’t before, it is now!” She replies with a tired smile. Trove’s healing is as welcome as her praise, the true impact of what they’d accomplished sinking in.

”I’m sure it’ll be of value to somebody, not to mention whatever else might be lying around it’s lair.”

Reflex: 1d20 + 5 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 5 + 1 + 1 = 14

By the time the elf recovers from the corrosive breath of the dragon, he finds his colleagues have already slain the beast. But since nature doesn't tend to leave resources laying around unused, Garethane figures he shouldn't either. The elf begins eyeing the dragon's corpse with much the same avarice as a gnomish artificer at a junkyard.

Survival: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (13) + 13 = 26

While Azen and Garethane get to work on the dragon's corpse, attempting to salvage what he can for future use, the others head deeper into the cave to see what else the dragon may have been guarding.

The passage curls around to the north and ends in a large body of water with a smallish outcropping of land on the far side. Shining a light across the water you see the glimmer of treasure across the lake.

You all just smoked a CR 11 dragon, so I'm pretty sure you can figure out how to get across the water, just let me know how you do that...

"Garethane, think you can get us across that lake, or at least figure out if it's safe enough to swim across?" Rhiannon asks, seeing the gli t of what was likely the dragons treasure hoard, across the dark lake.

"I don't know for a fact that killing the dragon will instantly release the spell it had over the other elves.
We may have to deal with them.
If it was a Charm spell, and it is still active, then they will regard us as having killed their friend. That doesn't mean they will be mindlessly hostile. There's still the possibility of convincing them that it was justified or necessary with some fast talking. But it would be very difficult. On the other hand, Charm Person normally lasts a number of hours, not days.
If it was a Dominate spell, that does last days, but then they would just continue following the orders they were last given. Less capacity for independent thought."

"If we can hold off on encountering them until tomorrow, then we have the possibility of the spells wearing off, or Tove and myself being able to remove the spells."

"If we can't avoid encountering them, then we should be prepared to deal with them non-lethally, knowing that such effects can be removed or can wear off."

Of course, if the GM wants to rule that such spells end with the death of the caster, we are in the clear. I just don't know if that is to be taken for granted.

"Then let us make camp here for now, in the morning we can prepare what’s necessary to cross this water, as well as to break any lingering enchantments on our new acquaintances. We should set a watch though; one way or another I expect the elves will make their way back here at some stage tonight. Either curious as to how the dragon’s hold over them was lifted… or else having uncovered Tanyl and Taegen’s ruse, and realised the threat has already slipped past them."

”Alright, we should get ourselves set up then.” Rhiannon says, setting down her pack and selecting a spot with a good view of both the entranceway, and the cavern lake. ”Happy to take the middle watch to make sure you casters can have a stretch of undisturbed sleep if possible.”

The party sets up camp deep in the corner of the cave in order to keep a close eye on both the cave mouth and the body of water lurking further into the cave.

The night goes by mostly uneventful, but as you get closer to morning, those on the third watch hear elven voices approaching the cave.

Azen pokes Garethane and her sister.

You're on.

The Elf and half elf were probably the best people to confront any elves they didn't know, but she would be right beside them, helping to smooth things over if necessary.